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- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
Al-Adab towards Allah:
Dear brother, we are still tackling an issue that's closely related to the series Ways of Accesses and Signs of acceptance, which is "Al-Adab towards Allah". I mentioned previously that in Islam there is Aqeedah (Islamic ideology), acts of worship, transactions and morals, and the latter complete one's faith. The topic of today is about Al-Adab. It was narrated in the relic:
(("Among the Throne holders, there are two angels who keep saying, "Glory be to You Allah and to You is the Praise, all praise is due to You for Your Forbearance despite Your Knowledge.))
Allah says:
﴾ Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal. ﴿
Despite that, Allah is the Most Forbearing, for He provides His servants with graces and He bestows health upon them. It was narrated in the relic:
((Another two angels say, "Glory be to You Allah and to You is the Praise, all praise is due to You for your Forgiveness despite your Omnipotence".))
Pay attention to this point: Allah's Forbearence comes with His Knowledge and Allah's Forgivness comes with His Omnipotence. Thus, the believer should attain those attributes of the Divine Perfection, and he should be forbearing despite knowing and forgiving despite having power. Allah says:
﴾ Allah indeed is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing. ﴿
﴾ And Sufficient is your Lord as an All-Knower and All-Beholder of the sins of His slaves. ﴿
The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked, "What Adab that you have, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Allah taught and trained me in good manners and perfected my good character.))
The human perfection is manifested in the Messenger of Allah. I keep saying that the universe is the silent Quran, the Quran is the speaking universe and the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the walking Quran. When A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the Prophet's conducts, peace be upon him, she said:
((The Prophet's conduct and manners were the Quran.))
The believer's heroism lies in being graceful at home:
I would like to repeat what I once said, it is easy to manage your affairs (be kind) with sh3er out of your keenness on your social position, but you should know that what counts is to be kind at your home as well. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you tomy family.))
Whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, entered his house, he used to have a joyful and smiling face. Also, he, peace be upon him, used to say about women:
((They are dearly pleasant and friendly.))
The believer's heroism lies in showing his good manners at home. I receive endless complaints against people who seem to be nice with sh3er, but harsh at home. I repeatedly stress that your heroism, as a believer, is reflected when your family feel that they celebrate Eid whenever you come home. Therefore, don't make them feel that it is Eid when you leave home. People of Makkah were the Prophet's fiercest enemies for 20 years. They got him out of it and tortured his Companions, but on the day when Makkah was opened, the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked the people of Makkah:
(("What do you think I am going to do to you?" They replied, "You are our noble brother and the nephew of a generous man". He said, "Go, you are free"))
That was how he, peace be upon him, reacted though ten thousands sharp swords were waiting for one word uttered from his noble mouth to kill them, since the powerful usually annihilate cities they open (but the Prophet, peace be upon him, never did that).
The most foolish man is the one who doesn't fear Allah:
Once, a man was circumambulating the Ka'bah and was saying, "O My Lord, forgive me my sin, and I think You will not do that!" A man behind him heard him, so he said to him, "O You! Why are you so desperate of Allah's Mercy?" The man replied, "I committed a great sin." The other man asked, "What is your sin?" He said, "I was a soldier helping my fellow soldiers suppress sedition in a town, and after we succeeded, we were allowed to steal whatever we want from that town. I entered a house where there were a man, his wife and his two children. I killed that man, and I said to his wife, 'Give me everything you have'. Then I killed her first son, and when I was about to kill her second son, she gave me a golden shield which pleased me a lot. I looked at it carefully, and I noticed that two lines of poetry were written on it. When I read them, I fainted." The two lines are:
If the prince and his assistants were unjust to people
And if the judge of the worldly life made a partial judgment
Then woe to, woe to, woe to the judge of the worldly life
from the Divine Judge
* * *
Dear brothers, the most foolish person is the one who never fears Allah in his life:
Then woe to, woe to, woe to the judge of the worldly life
from the Divine Judge
* * *
The people of At-Ta'f hurt the Prophet, peace be upon him deeply; they denied him, made fun of him and let their children hit him till his noble foot bled. After that:
((The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said: "O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will cause Al-Akhshabain the two mountains to fall upon them." I said: "No, for I hope that Allah will bring forth from their progeny people who will worship Allah Alone, and none besides Him."
Have you noticed how exalted the Adab of the Prophet, peace be upon him, towards Allah? He, peace be upon him, went on saying:
((….O Allah! Guide my people, as they do not know."))
"What Adab that you have, O Messenger of Allah!" He, peace be upon him, said:
((Allah taught and trained me in good manners and perfected my good character.))
Al-Adab of the Prophets, peace be upon them:
We are talking, in this blessed meeting, about Al-Adab of the Prophets, peace be upon them, who represent the ultimate perfection.
((I met Abu Bakr. He said, "Who are you?" He (Hanzala) said, "Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite." He (Abu Bakr) said, "Hallowed be Allah, what are you saying?" Thereupon he said, "I say that when we are in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) we ponder over Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our very eyes and when we are away from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) we attend to our wives, our children, our business; most of these things (pertaining to After-life) slip out of our minds." Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, I also experience the same." So I and Abu Bakr went to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said to him, "Allah's Messenger, Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite." Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said, "What has happened to you?" I said, "Allah's Messenger, when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, much of these things go out of our minds." Thereupon Allah's Messenger, may peace be upon him, said, "We Prophets, our eyes sleep, but our hearts do not sleep. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzala, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation)." He (the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him) said this thrice.))
This means that the Prophets, peace be upon them, are in a continuous connection with Allah, but as for us, our connection with Allah is not continuous. Please, do not misunderstand my words; when I say that the believer is not always connected with Allah, I don't mean that he obeys Him one hour, while at the very next hour he sins. Absolutely this is not what I mean, but rather I mean that the believer devotes himself to the worldly affairs sometimes, whereas in other times he devotes himself to Allah. What did the believers of Jinn say? They said:
﴾ 'And we know not whether evil is intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intends for them a Right Path. ﴿
Notice that they didn't say "whether their Lord intends for them evil", but they said, "their Lord intends for them a Right Path" because the Almighty Allah's Perfection is Absolute. I would like to repeat these nice words:
﴾ 'And we know not whether evil is intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intends for them a Right Path. ﴿
What will our Master Isa, peace be upon him, say?
﴾And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: 'Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?' " He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say).﴿
He will not say, "I didn't say so", but rather he will say:
﴾Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden and unseen* "Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world).﴿
The manners of the Prophets, peace be upon them, are outstanding, and they are good examples for us.
Man is assigned to apply Al-Adab that is attained by the Prophets:
It is noticed that whenever people are reminded of the Prophets' perfection, they say, "Those are Prophets, peace be upon them, but we are not". I say to those people: You are Divinely assigned to follow the steps of the Prophets, peace be upon them, and the proof is in the following Hadith:
((Verily, Allah has commanded the believers with that which He commanded His Messengers.))
Let me clarify this point: The most qualified heart surgeon and the nurse who is not that good use the same techniques in giving a shot; both of them should sterilize it. Accordingly, the Prophets, peace be upon them, conveyed to us a method of Adab, and all mankind are Divinely assigned to apply that method. Consider the example of a car, whether it is driven by the most powerful man or a common person, both must follow the same instructions in driving it. Hence, if you say that the Prophet is a Prophet, well this is true; he is a Prophet, peace be upon him, while you are not, but you are assigned to follow his steps. Musa, peace be upon him, said:
﴾And said: "My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!" ﴿
He is in need of what? He is in need of a good deed to offer. When he, peace be upon him, watered for those two girls he said:
﴾and said: "My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!" ﴿
The true poverty is offering no good deeds, and the true wealth is having a lot of good deeds. In people's perception richness and poverty are measured according to the wealth one has. It was narrated that our master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "True richness and poverty are measured after standing before Allah". The rich man in the worldly life is not rich unless he spends money in obeying Allah, and the poor man in the worldly life is not poor as long as he is Muhsen; he offers lots of great good deeds:
﴾and said: "My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!" ﴿
Making Munajat is the believer's happiest moment:
Dear brother, I am bringing to you some of the Prophet's Adab. Our Master Adam, peace be upon him, said:
﴾They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." ﴿
The believer makes Munajat (talking secretly to Allah) to the Almighty Allah, and when he does so, he is at the happiest moment of his life, because he is dealing with Allah Who watches and hears him. Bear in mind that Allah hears you when you talk to Him, do you not say in your prayer: "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears those who praise Him)? Allah hears you now. Some scholars said, "If you want to make Munajat to Allah, make Du'a to Him." Actually, making Du'a is Munajat, and if you want Allah to talk to you, just read the Quran:
﴾ "Verily! My slaves (i.e the true believers of Islamic Monotheism), you have no authority over them.﴿
When you reauthor the Quran, you feel that Allah addresses you, and when you want to make Munajat to Allah, make Du'a to Him. Hence, by making Du'a you talk to Allah and by reciting the Quran Allah talks to you:
﴾They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." ﴿
It is mentioned in the relic: A young man was a student of a scholar who said to him once, "O son, every good deed is followed by a reward, and every sin is followed by a punishment". Few days later, this young man backslid and committed a sin. According to his scholar's words, he had to receive the punishment, but three weeks passed and nothing happened to him. He remained healthy, and his house and car were intact, so that young man made Munanjat to His Lord by saying, "O Lord, I sinned, but You didn't punish me". Surprisingly, he was inspired with Allah's Response, "O My servant, I punished you, but you didn't realize that. Did I not prevent you from the ecstasy of making Munajat to Me? Is this not enough punishment?"
The severest punishment for the believer is to be veiled from Allah:
Dear brother, the exalted people are punished by being veiled from Allah, which is enough punishment for them. Consider the example of a son of best manners, do you think his father will hit him for any error he commits? No, he will not, because when the father stops talking to him, this is enough punishment for him. The more exalted you are the more sensitive you will be; you will be deeply hurt when you are deserted by Allah. Hence, the believers are not punished by having calamities befallen their health, position or house, but rather by being veiled from Allah. The proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day. ﴿
Being veiled is the harshest punishment:
﴾They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." ﴿
Allah said about Ayub, peace be upon him:
﴾And (remember) Ayub (Job, peace be upon him), when he cried to his Lord﴿
These Prophets, peace be upon them, used to make Munajat to Allah, so have you ever done the same? When you play sport or when you drive your car, make Munajat to your Lord, ask Him for His Forgiveness and express your love to Him. Making Munajat is amazing:
﴾And (remember) Ayub (Job, peace be upon him), when he cried to his Lord "Verily, distress has seized me﴿
He said:
﴾"Verily, distress has seized me﴿
Look how polite Ayub was in his expression! Unlike him, some people say, "O Lord, you have afflicted me"
﴾and You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy."﴿
When you talk to the Almighty Allah, He hears you and when you move, He sees you. Hence, when you make Munajat to Him, He is the All-Hearer and when you intend to do something, He is the All-Knower. Keep in mind that you are in His Grasp.
Yusuf, peace be upon him, was ideal in his Adab:
Yusuf, peace be upon him, was ideal in his Adab. This young nice little boy was thrown by his brother in the well, in order to die, and you all know his story. After a while, a caravan of travelers came to that well and the little boy came out of it:
﴾He said: "What good news! Here is a boy." So they hid him as merchandise (a slave).﴿
After a period of time, Yusuf met his brother when he became Aziz of Egypt (the highest position), and he said:
﴾He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison﴿
I ask you by Allah to tell me, which is graver, being in the well or being in prison? He, peace be upon him, didn't say, "when he brought me out of the well", because he didn't want to remind his brother of their crime, so instead he said:
﴾He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison﴿
Then he said:
﴾After Shaitan (Satan) had sown enmity between me and my brother. ﴿
He, peace be upon him, didn't say, "They plotted against me", but he ascribed that evil deed to Satan. He accused Satan of sowing dissention between him and his brother, putting himself and his brother in the same level. We need all that Adab in our relationships:
﴾After Shaitan (Satan) had sown enmity between me and my brother. ﴿
Man should keep polite in public and in private:
Some scholars said, "Keep polite in public and in private, for whoever behaves impolitely in public, will be punished in public, and whoever behaves impolitely in private, will be punished in private by being veiled from Allah." Other scholars said, "If you offer Salah, reauthor the Quran and remember Allah and you are not impressed, you should know that you have a big problem with your relationship with Allah; you are veiled from Him, and this is enough punishment." Some scholars said, "If you are not touched, then know that your heart is dead." When you have no submissiveness, you never cry and you never become disturbed, you should know that you have a problem. The Almighty Allah says:
﴾ Nay! But on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn. ﴿
Some scholars said, "Being polite in offering whatever deed is a sign of the acceptance of that deed." As I have mentioned earlier, having Adab completes the good deed and the acts of worship. A contemporary writer said:
The virtue danced while boasting about
its virtue, but it revealed its private parts in that dance.
***
If you mentioned the great good deed you offered twice or thrice, it will lose its value. Thus, keep it between you and Allah. Do not render in vain the value of your good deed by reminders of your generosity, by injury or by boasting about it. Some scholars said, "The reality of Al-Adab is to have good manners. Other scholars said, "Al-Adab is to bring out the perfection and power of everything in life and put it into action."
﴾And by Nafs (Adam or a person or a soul, etc.), and Him Who perfected him in proportion* Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him; ﴿
Purifying one's ownself is the best deed at all:
Dear brother, when man is a perfectionist, he will be close to the Almighty Allah, because:
((Verily, Allah is pure and He accepts only what is pure. Verily, Allah has commanded the believers with that which He commanded His Messengers.))
The Prophets' Adab is our example to follow in our daily life affairs. Thus, dear brother, the greatest deed at all is to purify your ownself:
﴾Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds)* And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds).﴿
Better yet, the Almighty Allah says:
﴾Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it.﴿
What is the trust? It is your ownself which Allah has entrusted you with, so either you get it acquainted with its Lord, or you make it obey Him and draw closer to Him, so that it is purified. In fact, this purification is the price for Paradise:
﴾Indeed he succeeds﴿
There are two or three Ayaht in the Quran, as I remember, in which purifying one's ownself is mentioned:
﴾Indeed whosoever purifies himself (by avoiding polytheism and accepting Islamic Monotheism) shall achieve success* And remembers (glorifies) the Name of his Lord (worships none but Allah), and prays (five compulsory prayers and Nawafil additional prayers).﴿
﴾Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself ﴿
﴾Successful indeed are the believers* Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.﴿
Hence, you will succeed and exalt, and you will be saved, prudent, wise and reasonable by purifying your ownself, because it is the most precious thing you own in life, and by purifying it you will deserve Paradise.
Adab completes the acts of worship:
Believe me dear brother:
﴾Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself ﴿
This Ayah is one of the most important Ayaht in the Noble Quran. Success, triumph and reasoning are manifested in purifying your ownself from all imperfections and making it connected with the One and Ad-Dayyan (the Judge). This is the real success and triumph. We won't be able to know how precious purifying the ownself is until we meet the Almighty Allah in Paradise, and until the believer sees his rank in the Sight of Allah when the angel of death comes to him:
((By My Greatness and Exaltedness, I will not take my believing servant's soul (embracing him in my mercy), before afflicting him against every sin he committed in his life, either by illness in his body, shortage in his sustenance, or adversity in his wealth and kids, till I cover all his sins, and if there is any sin left, I will afflict him with agony before death, till he meets me as pure as he was on the day he was born.))
This means that if everyone of us can reach his grave with a purified ownself, by Allah he will gain triumph in everything. Therefore, you should be patient while you are Divinely treated in life, and when you face problems.
((By My Greatness and Exaltedness, I will not take my believing servant's soul (embracing him in my mercy), before afflicting him against every sin he committed in his life, either by illness in his body, shortage in his sustenance, or adversity in his wealth and kids, till I cover all his sins, and if there is any sin left, I will afflict him with agony before death, till he meets me as pure as he was on the day he was born.))
In the religious texts which we have mentioned so far Al-Adab of the Prophets, peace be upon them, is reflected indicating the fact that Al-Adab completes the acts of worship.
